The Wisteria's Dance
by xiMarionette
Summary: A lone pregnant woman returned a favor of a dear friend and took a battered man into the shelter of her own home. As a result of his pummeled state, he had no memories of his own. Little did she know, she was harboring the Nidaime, Hokage of Konohagakure: her village's enemy. TobiramaXOC
1. Prologue: The Death of Senju Tobirama

**The Wisteria's Dance**

**Prologue: The Death of Senju Tobirama**

Seven battered bodies stilled in the forest, breathing harshly from the interminable run they had gone through. Sweat decorated their temples, dousing their clothes, and beading down their necks. Adrenaline that had been flowering through the veins was now dead and nonexistent, leaving them weary from their escape of the enemy. There was no hope at the moment, and they all knew it. There were a far number of enemies for the group to survive in total, and it only led to one painful and dreadful decision.

"I'll do it," Sarutobi Hizuren volunteered bravely.

Nobody noticed the trembling of Shimura Danzo's hands coming to a stop.

Surrounded by twenty elite shinobis, bounty hunters, from Kumogakure, along with the two brothers Kinkaku and Ginkaku, it was surely death. Nobody, who would sacrifice themselves for the sake of the team, would survive.

But Hizuren smiled courageously, without a tint of worry or concern on his face. "Heh! Don't worry! I'm the best of all of us. I won't die." He turned to Danzo, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Take care of the others, Danzo. I know you'll-"

It caught everyone off guard when the quiet one man of the group suddenly snarled with such anger that it was brimming his eyes. "Shut up! I was about to raise my hand!" he stated childishly. "Don't try and act like you're so great! I'll be the decoy!" Danzo didn't allow Hizuren to interrupt, stating clearly without a waver in his voice. "My father and grandfather died as ninjas in battle. Self-sacrifice…self-sacrifice is a ninja's duty!"

Before the young man could stand and carry out his words, the leader of the small-formed team stood.

"I will be the decoy," the white haired man said. "You are the bright young shinobis who must protect the village."

"You can't! You're the Hokage! There is no one greater than you in the village!"

Senju Tobirama narrowed those red eyes of his, silencing Danzo not with words, but the power of his eyes. "Danzo, you and Sarutobi have always been rivals in everything, but what we need now is unity. Don't bring your personal squabbles into this."

Danzo make a 'keh' sound, turning his face away from the Nidaime of Konohagakure in shame.

"It's true I was slow with my decision. First you must look within and know yourself without losing your calm. Right now you will just bring danger upon your friends. At any rate, Danzo, Sarutobi, there's no need to be hasty at your age. One day the time will come for your sacrifice. Just stay alive until then." He then turned to Hizuren, face completely serious, as was his demeanor. "Sarutobi, you must protect those who have faith in you and who love the village. And train up those to whom you can entrust the next generation. Tomorrow, you will be Hokage!"

Hizuren looked at his sensei with surprise and awe. A second later, he bowed his head. "Yes, sir!"

Tobirama took a moment to stare into his pupil's eyes. And just as that moment was satisfied, he turned and quickly left.

The Nidaime heard the hesitant calls for him to stop, but thankfully they were not spoken. As Hokage of Konohagakure, this was his duty. This was the ultimate sacrifice he could offer to his village. It will not be in vain. His confidence in Hizuren was greatly immense. That boy will lead Konohagakure to its greatness no doubt.

Tobirama continued to run. When he felt the lightest of raindrops, he cursed and put forth more chakra and power into his legs, bursting through the trees with a speed that no one could compare to. He felt the elite shinobis running faster, catching up to his pace, and knew that within given time he would be required to come to a stop and face them.

As his legs pumped swiftly through the branches of the foreign country, images and memories threaded through his mind. It was as if his mind was aware that this was going to be his last moment upon earth.

_Hashirama…_

Was the brothers' death fated? Was this how things were meant to be in the eyes of the gods? Both Senju brothers surrendered their lives in order to protect the village they loved.

And if they were both to do it all over again, they would certainly walk the same path.

Rain pittered and pattered upon him lightly. And soon enough, it came down with a vengeance of a raging red-eyed bull. Tobirama's soaked clothes weighted him down, slowly down his movements and speed to a degree where he was heavily uncomfortable. He roughly wiped his face of the rain's water, raking four fingers down his scalp as to prevent his pristine white hair from obscuring his view. His headgear was slipping despite how it was literally molded upon his face.

With all these signs of not only his body's exhaustion, but also weather disadvantages signaled the younger Senju that this was the day of ultimate sacrifice.

Thunder rumbled overheads, making the earth vibrates from its loud protests and groans. Rain continued to fall at a steady pace as the trees whistled and sighed with the passing wind.

Despite the disadvantage of not knowing the landscape he was aimlessly running upon, Tobirama, who was an expert with water jutsus, had a backup plan. And it was one that would give his team enough time to safety run back to the village.

A cackle of laughter made the Nidaime come to a complete stop.

Tobirama winced as he dug his feet into the muddied ground, forced to push his hand into the softness of the dirt lest he barrel straight to the Gold and Silver brothers who had just appeared before him.

It was time.

**I've been dying to put up this. I know it's short but there's much more! I haven't seen a Tobirama fanfic anywhere so I decided to along with his character. He's so good-looking too! ^^**

**Some parts of the dialogue are from the manga of Naruto. I do not own the manga.  
**

**Update for **The Rose and the Beast **will be coming up shortly!**


	2. Keen Eyes of a Predator

**Chapter 1: Keen Eyes of a Predator**

The heat was stifling.

Fujiko sat back on her heels, sighing as she wiped the back of her hand across her forehead. She grimaced at the amount of sweat gathered and wiped it roughly on her kimono. The weather was scorching nowadays. This wasn't farming weather. She squinted her eyes, gazing out at the barely nourished garden she had.

Steadily, the weather has been growing hotter from the past months. It was getting to a point where even some women were forced to wear thinner kimonos to fit their mobility and to avoid heat stroke.

It was annoying!

She pushed her sweat soaked bangs away from her face, already irritated and annoyed with the weather. Fujiko grunted as she pushed herself up, using her knees as leverage as her whale-like body lifted from the floor.

Six months pregnant and she was titanic.

There were days where she felt like a dog, walking around with no ambition, no future, and no will as she lumbered her body around her small humble adobe. Her stomach stretched outward as if her child wanted to greet the world from inside. Some days, Fujiko felt that there should be more than one child inside, but neither her nor her husband had twins running along in their families.

A heavy sigh mixed with both frustration and weariness, Fujiko placed a hand to the small of her back and stretched her aching muscles.

As she took her little break, she couldn't help but notice her neighbor.

Three men were surrounding a small cart filled with packages of miscellaneous items. They approached it and grabbed one of the bags, lugging over their shoulder before making way into their home.

Kobayashi was the man of the house, giving swift orders to the other two men. He approached his tiny wife, pecking her lips with a chaste kiss before moving on with his duties. Kobayashi was married to Fujiko's close childhood friend, Hana. Hana, a very small, but fiery woman, lived with both her husband and her brother, Hideki.

Hana had married the fisherman last fall, enjoying the warmth of her husband during the cold season of the winter and had has yet to be blessed with a child. Her brother moved in during one of his many exciting travels of the other countries. Because of the dangers and war between countries, Hana begged Hideki to stay within the safe walls of her home and avoid the brush of death. He had reluctantly agreed and did everything plausible to earn his stay fairly and rightfully.

All three were very well respectable people. There was nothing about them the village gossiped besides Hideki's wild risky adventures. Other than that, they were good people.

The other man, however….

Fujiko's dark eyes narrowed as they speculated upon the white-haired man grunting as he carried a rice bag towards the home. He was the recent news in the village.

Because the Sato family was well known for their unselfish acts and words of truth and honesty, the fact that they've saved a man from the brink of death didn't deter the villagers' mindset of the inappropriate setting. Kobayashi and Hideki had been fishing in the river for dinner upstream of a nearby river. And while they fished for their dinner, a body floated face up.

Immediately both men had gone into action, diving into the water and pulling the body to shore. It was miraculous the man hadn't drowned. He had also been unconscious to their amazement. Without a second thought, the imprudent men (in Fujiko's opinion) dragged the man into the warmth of their home and magnanimously offered him shelter, food, and a family due to his amnesia.

Fujiko scrutinized the man, who bore the same equal strength as Hana's physically powerful husband, as he walked about the area.

She didn't look away when he met her eyes.

Like an alpha dog, Fujiko tilted her chin higher, challenging the man, showing him that she held no fear and no compassion like the others.

"Fujiko, leave him alone!"

A small woman from the house popped her head out the window and shook a small fist in her direction. "I swear you're always trying to sum up dirt on him!"

Fujiko sighed and turned her body towards the woman, forced to look away from the man. "Hana-chan, it's—"

"It's nothing!" Hana's head disappeared and in no time she was walking out the door, thanking the men for their hard work and walking towards Fujiko with a stern expression. "What are you doing?" she hissed, glancing at Fujiko's ruined kimono. "Your kimono has more dirt stain than Jiro's kid!"

Fujiko suddenly turned embarrassed, turning her profile away from Hana. "I was working on the garden."

And just as soon as those words were spoken, Hana the spitfire calmed. She grimly looked at the wilting, decayed garden. "Fujiko-chan, you…you need someone to tend your garden."

Fujiko glared at her. "I can take care of it!"

"Sure, you're doing a great job at it."

"I wasn't asking for your opinion," Fujiko snapped, turning away from her friend.

Hana thumped her fist to her forehead, cursing under her breath. "Fujiko-chan, I'm sorry."

Fujiko ignored her friend and walked towards her home. She barely gave a glance to the garden as she passed it, knowing deeply that Hana spoke the truth and there was nothing that could bring back those flowers to their noble vitality they once held.

Her husband had passed away when she was two months pregnant.

Originally from the dreary, militant village of Iwakagure, Fujiko had been raised to be the perfect wife. From birth she was known for her inexplicable beauty and many suitors had come for her hand as soon as she reached the ripe age of fifteen. Her father, the strict and firm head of the clan, placed his foot down and refused to marry her till the right man arrived. Each man failed within her father's eyes, ignoring their station within the village as great ninjas and the gold within their pockets as rich men. There was nobody fit for his daughter and he made sure everyone knew that. The clan hadn't even been big in name or size, but the clan was filled with men of noble souls: the Rakujochigusa clan.

It wasn't until her husband had saved her life, did her father finally give her away.

Fujiko clenched her teeth as she sat down, feeling a cringe at her back. Goodness, it was getting harder day-by-day just to sit and stand.

Hana quickly floundered to her side. "Are you alirght?"

"Aa," Fujiko nodded, sipping at the water Hana placed before her.

"Fujiko—"

"It's alright, Hana." Her eyes peered through her window to the white haired man plowing the fields behind Hana's home. "I don't trust him."

Hana groaned heavily, throwing herself in the opposite chair of Fujiko. "Fujiko-chan, we've been over this a million times."

"It still doesn't make me feel better."

"It's alright!"

Fujiko snorted. "Your husband's an idiot. How can he let in a stranger to his home when he has a wife? Doesn't he care about your safety?"

"He's harmless. The man couldn't even hurt a fly! Yesterday at the dinner table there was a rat scourging around the dishes and he refused to kill it. Instead, he captured it and released it in the backyard. I won't be surprised if it'll poison my food, the fool!" Hana growled. "And besides, Hideki is there."

Fujiko nearly congratulated herself on refraining her groan of annoyance. "Hana, there's another letter in the drawer in the mahogany table. Tell your brother to stop his secret admirer letters, they're getting annoying."

"Huahahaha!" Hana laughed, tipping her head back.

Her pale face flushed with red. "Stop it!" she hissed angrily.

"What a b_aaaaakaaaa_," Hana teased, instantly jumping to her feet to open the admirer's letter. Her blue eyes hungrily scanned the whole thing, teeth barely reigning in the laughter threatening to spew from her mouth. "'I want to make love to you under the moon with a thousand sakura petals falling upon us as we establish our relationship under the bright stars of heaven'?"

"_Hana!"_

"Oh, goodness, this is good stuff." Hana folded the paper neatly and slid it into the inside of her flower-patterned kimono. "I'm showing this to Kobayashi-kun tonight."

"Just get it out of here," she snapped. Fujiko slowly stood up from her chair and huffed. "I need to go to the market." With one last glance towards the suspicious individual, she turned towards Hana and narrowed her eyes. "If you dare spill any of those—"

Hana giggled madly and sped out of her home before she had a chance to finish her threat.

Fujiko shook her head. She grabbed a hair tie off from the side and pulled in her black hair, braiding it and slinging it over her shoulder. With an empty basket and a small pouch of coins, Fujiko exited her home and walked towards the center of the village without a backwards glance.

In Kumogakure, there were two separate parts of the village. The centerpiece of the village was the obvious rocks plowing through the skies and hidden by the moisture of the clouds. People dwelled within the rocks, creating their own homes to their comforts and even had markets and academies there. The other part of the village was more secluded. The land surrounding Kumogakure's main part was built with small houses and even smaller markets just before the gates for those who wished to prosper in the arts of fishing. The houses ran along the ocean perfectly for the boats.

Those who didn't live within the city life of Kumogakure were seen more as the country people, and vice versa.

Fujiko who had grown within the city adjusted to the country life quite difficultly. Where she had been nothing but a doll, was forced to work alongside of her husband with the farm life he led. It was hard and made her upset, but she never spoke against her husband, because she was brought up to be the perfect, obedient, submissive wife.

In another sense, it was a bit more freedom.

Flanking of this freedom, she developed calluses and freckles. In a fit of anger, she had destroyed the vanity mirror dresser she had moved during her travel here. It was despicable. She was not brought up to be a farmer's wife; she was meant to be a noble's wife!

Fujiko released a breath, forcing herself to relax. She continued to walk towards the center of Kumogakure, determined to buy provisions to suffice her for the next two days. There was only so much she could carry with her back home in her condition.

The closer she drew towards the market place, the livelier it became with people.

There had been a moment where Fujiko thought she had forgotten the life of the city. Since before she had married on her twenty-third birthday, she had lived a shelter life from birth as was expected from women. There were a few moments as a child where she had been given the permission to play and visit the city by her mother, but that was soon taken away as soon as she reached her tenth birthday. And after she met her husband, she was forced into labor with the farm life. Therefore, she didn't have a chance to visit the city as much as she would've liked, given that it was her husband who did the trades of goods.

Children squealed in delight and were running around her feet, already screaming out small jutsu names in play. Horses nickered nervously when the children ventured too close, but were soon soothed by their owners. People were screaming bargaining prices, either nodding in approval or sneering in cheat.

It was a nice familiarity.

"Flowers for saaaaleee! Flowers for sale! We've got special flowers imported from Konohagakure!"

"Sake! Sake! Drink all the sake in the world, boys!"

"Pearls for the lovely ladies!" A man came swinging near Fujiko, thrusting his pearl-covered arms towards her.

Fujiko's lips thinned as she smiled politely. She walked around the man, placing a hand on her stomach as she looked around.

She approached a fruit stand, purchased three apples and slid them into her basket. People walked around her, chattering about their days openly without realizing that there were others listening in.

"Rama-san is so helpful," a nearby woman gossiped, giggling at Hana's new addition.

"And he's so cute! Goodness, I would've snagged the man if I wasn't married," another woman said.

"Get out of here! No soliciting!" An old woman hobbled from the stand the gossiping pigeons stood before and shooed them off. "If you're not buying anything then go away!" The old hag's eyes turned to Fujiko and lightened up. "Well, if it isn't the pumpkin,"

Fujiko glared at the woman. "Hag," she greeted.

The old woman cackled and hobbled towards the pregnant lady. "What will it be today? Jasmine tea, green tea, chamomile tea, apple cinnamon tea?"

"The usual."

Fetching a small bag, the old woman stood before a small wooden crate and opened it. She grabbed a few black leaves, humming an old tune beneath her breath. There was a small tremble in the old woman's stature as she walked back to Fujiko.

"How's your arthritis, Miyako?"

The old woman gave her a toothy grin. "Little ole me ain't goin' anywhere too soon, honey." Her suspicious eyes slid over to the women she had just gotten ridden of before scurrying closer towards Fujiko. "So…is Rama available?"

"Miyako-san!"

"What?" She shrugged innocently. "My granddaughter needs a husband. And he's a good looking one!"

Fujiko shook her head from side to side. "I don't trust him, Miyako," she said quietly.

"You don't trust anyone, that's the problem." Miyako snatched her cane from the side and hobbled around her little shack, making sure that there weren't anything missing from her tea stand. "You need to let loose, Fujiko." She gave Fujiko a slidelong glance at her belly. "Maybe not right now, but after you pop those kids out, go search for a man!"

"Miyako!" Fujiko snarled.

The old woman cackled and waved the pregnant woman away. "Get away from here. You're scaring my customers."

Fujiko glared at Miyako before delicately turning away and walking down the street like royalty. She gathered more provisions for her kitchen until she was satisfied that it would suffice her for the next two days. With leftover money, Fujiko purchased a small meat dumpling and walked home as she picked on it.

Pricks of pain pierced her lower back, making her wince every so often. She placed a small hand to her back and massaged the area, taking in slow deep breathes to help control the pain.

The black tea was going to be made a bit sooner than she thought.

"Are you alright, ma'am?"

At that voice, Fujiko instantaneously stilled as if danger stood before her.

Her head slowly moved to the side, eyes glancing from her peripheral vision to see white hair. With a quickness to match a snake, Fujiko turned to fully look at him.

A small smile formed at his lips as if to assure her that he was of no harm.

There was no secret that he had a handsome shapely face that can only be the epitome of masculinity. Peach skin was smooth, unblemished. His face structure had seemed as if a romantic artist, with desires of the unknown, had sculptured it. Where his cheekbones were high, his hair was low, his bangs brushing at the top of his brows. His lips were thin and male as his jaw line was delectable to the eyes. The outlines of his eyes were dark, almost feline-like. His eyes were sinister red, and just like hers, they never looked away from her challenge. And what was just as disconcerting as his eyes, his existence, were the red stripes at his cheekbones and chin.

It was almost like a warrior's war paint.

And it made Fujiko's hackles rise like an angry wolf.

Sometimes Fujiko wondered to herself why she held such a concentrated aversion towards him. There was never an answer to her speculation.

"Is there something you need?" she asked sharply.

He wore a simple white shirt given to him from Hana's husband. It held snugly around his sweaty body, teasing those with feminine hormones about his well-built body. His brown pants were tied from the waist and down to his ankles, finishing off with brown sandals.

"No," he said, clearing his throat as his smile disappeared.

She didn't like him.

And he knew it.

Deep within her, there was something pinpointing his existence that couldn't be defined nor told. No matter how hard Fujiko tried to solve his appearance, she couldn't do it. And because of that, her hackles were constantly held up high, distrustful and suspicious of him in her best friend's home.

Those red eyes of his were always smoldering with a desperate need.

Whenever she saw him, he had this look of intense concentration. Some may pass it with a simple thought of him desperately looking into his past for some sort or form of identity. But for her, it was something deeper. She could even make the assumptions that he was a thief, a burglar who faked injuries in order to gain trust before backstabbing his hosts. But throughout his stay here, he held neither negativity nor ill will to make her uncertainties confirmed.

There were times where Rama (a name Hana had chosen as 'Rama' was constantly mumbled in his sleep from his first day of rescue) stared at anything, be it a bird or tree, with the eyes of a predator.

And at any slight movement, he was quick to detect it first.

He had even saved Hana from a runaway horse cart when she managed to idiotically find herself in the middle of its path. How he had moved quickly was a wonder, but the townspeople didn't question it.

It was because they didn't see it.

Some wouldn't notice, but Fujiko did. The corners of his lips would pull down, as did his eyebrows. His eyes glowed in something indescribable as the energy around him almost picked up. It was then Fujiko noticed that this man was someone not to be trifled with.

And that's when she started her utter dislike for him openly. Unlike the women who flaunted towards him and the men who admired him, Fujiko felt like an innocuous wary child, an animal with a sixth sense. While everyone loved him, she hated him.

With a small polite nod towards her direction, Rama turned around and walked towards the house she knew oh so well.

Fujiko continued to stare, placing a hand on her stomach as her unborn child moved from within. Her dark eyes narrowed at Rama's back.

There was something unnatural about the way he moved. His gait was silent and swift something that can only be associated with death.

**Yaaaay! I've finally updated this story, whew! I've been busying myself with fictionpress that I haven't noticed I haven't updated anything on fanfiction for quite a while! But here's an update! :D I honestly should be moving on and updating my Avenger's fic, but I don't' have the motivation or inspiration to continue writing it, argh. We'll see. **

**So, you've finally met my OC! Her name is Fujiko, which means wisteria in Japanese. You can tell, because it is no secret at all, that she doesn't like Tobirama! hehehe**

**And as some of you can guess, 'Rama' is Tobirama. **

**Thanks for the reviews!**

**Akari . Wolf . Princess **xiMenagerie


	3. The Deal of Fire

**Chapter 2: The Deal of Fire **

A month had passed since she had last tended to her garden.

And throughout that month, she hadn't seen a sign of Rama anywhere.

Fujiko sighed, tilting her head left and right as she felt the strain of tending to the demolished garden. Of course, she should've known that the malnutrition garden wouldn't have been upright and beautiful when neglected. Makoto was always giving careful attention and affection to his garden, spilling secrets that his wife had never heard.

When Fujiko tried to learn, Makoto deemed her green thumb to be too strong for such delicate things.

After carefully maneuvering the plant to a different section of the mutated garden, Fujiko sat down at her hunches and sighed. She looked over the viewing of her garden and watched silently as her neighbors were moving quickly and diligently, moving their belongings onto a small brown cart with a horse attached to it. Steeling herself, the pregnant woman held her head up high and made way to her lonesome home. She walked around the back, glancing at her small garden one more time before entering her home.

"Fujiko-chaaaan!"

Recognizing Hana's voice, Fujiko turned around to see the woman walking along the small fence that bordered their own land. "Yes?" she said, turning around before waddling towards the woman.

"I'm moving soon."

Confused, Fujiko frowned. "Why is that?"

For years, the Sato family was well-known around these areas, telling one and beyond that they've stayed within Kumogakure. Their lineage was a long line from this part of the world, where they've mastered the techniques of fishing and weaving. Hana was constantly weaving baskets, selling many to the villagers with her strong yet delicate decorated makings. And her husband was skillful with a simple fishing rod, able to catch the biggest of preys in the waters.

So, for Fujiko, it didn't make sense for her to be hearing of Hana's moving.

"I'm pregnant." Hana confessed with a small blush. "I want to move closer to my family."

Fujiko merely nodded, her eyes lowering to the flat stomach Hana's hands were hovering over. "It makes sense." She turned to see Hana's brother and husband still moving their belongings into the cart. "But is it safe to cross borders at this time?"

The brow of Hana's puckered. "We don't know." She looked left and right before leaning forward to Fujiko before whispering, "Hideki and Kobayashi's heard of news about Konohagakure. Apparently their Hokage died and now the Raikage is sending his men to try and conquer. I don't know about the safety in other villages, but I'm sure this land will become a warzone, Fujiko."

Immediately, Fujiko was skimming around, making sure that nobody could hear them. "Where did they get this information, Hana? It's dangerous to be listening about the war!" she hissed.

Hana shrugged. "It doesn't matter, Fujiko. Just…just come away with us. You're pregnant, you have…" she hesitated. "You have no husband or family here to protect you. I'm sure Makoto wouldn't have wanted—"

"No, Hana," Fujiko said sharply. "I will not leave my husband's house behind."

There instilled in Fujiko was the loyalty of a wife. Since her upbringing, Fujiko was taught to be a wife, to be the wife that a husband would be proud of and allow her to bear his children and continue his lineage. Her worth was nothing if she couldn't bear children. Fujiko was absolutely dirt low if she could not provide her husband the accomplishments of a wife. And even though he was gone, Fujiko was firmly upon her resolute of a wife.

Hana sighed, nodding as she realized her friend was determined to stay. "I want you to stay safe."

"I will."

"And I want to see your child someday in the future, Fujiko."

"You will."

Hana turned and watched as Rama picked up a piece of furniture easily over his shoulder. Her critical eyes leered at the man they had saved as he effortlessly helped her husband brother throughout the tasks of moving. "I want you to keep him."

Fujiko followed the trail of Hana's eyesight and immediately her face hardened. "No."

"Please, you can use the help."

"I don't want any help from him," Fujiko snarled, backing away from the fence as she turned back to her home. Just the mere thought of having the strange man in her home brought the chills of disgust and revulsion through her body.

"He won't hurt you!" Hana yelled.

"No."

"I promise, please!" Hana pleaded. She ran around the outlining of Fujiko's home and forced herself through the back entry, tracking in mud and dirt. "Please, Fujiko! I don't want anyone taking the advantage of him."

"Then take him with you," Fujiko advised, pouring herself a cup of tea.

"I want to leave him here…with you." Hana didn't wait for an invitation and sat herself upon the chair. "I'm going to be with my family, my husband, and my brother, you have no one here. When I asked you to write to your family for your return, you disregarded it as if they wouldn't want you back home!" Hana persisted, slapping the counter of the table. "You need someone here with you. The war is becoming worse. Konohagakure has failed, and the Raikage is not a nice man. This village will end up muddled with shinobis. We are too weak to survive. You must have someone."

"Nothing will happen."

"Something will happen!"

"No!" Fujiko swerved around sharply. "Nothing will happen, Hana, nothing!"

Hana snarled and went to her feet. "I want you to keep him. I want him to keep you safe!"

"Oh, safe? And what will happen when I do accept your proposition, Hana? The villagers will talk. They won't see a man protecting a lone pregnant woman; they will see a pregnant woman, a succubus, taking the advantage of a man who has no memory of his own! They will quickly assume that I've become the evil woman, the liar, the prostitute, who'd sell herself for protection rather than go back to her family!"

"Then I will spread the word! I will tell them of my idea! Nobody will doubt the Sato's word!"

"It is not enough!"

Hana growled lowly in her throat from pure frustration. "It is enough! You just won't believe it!"

"Fine!" Fujiko delicately placed her china upon the table despite her voice becoming raw from her screaming. "Fine, I'll take him! But he'll sleep in the back. Like a dog!"

Hana glared at Fujiko. "He will not be treated like a dog, Fujiko. He is a good man!"

The woman merely rolled her eyes. "That is the price."

Without another word, Hana stood up and walked to the entry of the back. Before exiting, she looked over her shoulder and frowned at the woman sitting there with a cup of tea at hand. "I'm very disappointed in you, Fujiko. You should know better than to treat someone like a dog." And with that she disappeared.

**Super short chapter. But there was nothing else for me to add. It's been a while since I've last updated this and since it isn't really on my top priorities, I've been fiddling around with it until it satisfied me. I'll be making the chapters of this story around 3000 words long, since I'm more concentrated on the others. **

**Thanks for the reviews!**


End file.
